


Let the summer end

by cobblestyles



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Happy Ending, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, Some angst, Strangers to Lovers, but not underage, call me by your name inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-09 11:05:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14714855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cobblestyles/pseuds/cobblestyles
Summary: Dan's family welcomes a guest in their summer house in France every year. This year it's some aspiring professor in the U.S named Phil. Dan always ignores the guests.Maybe this year will bring a radical change in his life. Or maybe their lives.





	1. First meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! It's been a while, hasn't it? This fic is heavily inspired by 'Call me by your name' but with some twists and a happy ending, because we deserve some happiness.  
> Hope you enjoy it!

Dan is waiting for Summer to end. The days become so long that he just stays in the house, sometimes playing the piano, sometimes reading a book he’s read three times already, sometimes taking a nap. Okay, lots of naps.

Every Summer, his family welcomes a guest from some university. It could be a student or an aspiring teacher, and his dad is more than happy to give some guidance about the memoirs they’re supposed to write. Those guests stay for two months, and then they’re gone like the sun, and Dan forgets about them the day after. He doesn’t like strangers, or people in general, but he has to play the perfect guest for his parents’ sake. He was raised to be a good boy, so whatever. Their house for the summer is in the South of France, because his mom still has some family left here and there, and to be fair, it’s a lot warmer and sunnier down here than the U.K.

He hears the car pulling over, and he sighs into his pillow, knowing that he’ll have to give his room to this new guest and pretending he’s happy to do it. He looks out the window and sees a tall guy with dark hair, wearing a bright blue shirt and obnoxious sunglasses. He hears him give a warm ‘Hello!’ to his dad, and he hates him instantly. His mom calls him and he goes, plastering on a smile, the best he can give, and goes to shake the guy’s hand.

“Daniel, meet Philip, our new guest!,” his over-enthusiastic dad says, waving his hand like it’s the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to them.

“Oh please, Phil is fine!,” the guy says, laughing. He sounds northern, but Dan knows he lives in the States.

“And Dan is also fine,” because Daniel sounds so formal.

Phil nods, and Dan’s dad brings him to the house for the official tour, ending in the library because they’re in goddamn  _ Beauty and the Beast  _ apparently. Phil seems mesmerized by it all, and Dan can’t figure out if he’s truly genuine or just trying to be the best guest in the world. When he takes off his sunglasses, Dan can’t help but notice how blue his eyes are, and he feels a tingle in his belly. This is so ridiculous. He thought he’d be over this weird phase he’s had already when the neighbor’s son took off his shirt that one time. Dan knows he’s attracted to guys, he’s a 19 year old boy, he’s made his peace with it. But he’s never been into the guests, not because there’s a rule against it, but because he’s always managed to avoid them once he gave his room. He feels Phil’s eyes on him and he lowers his head, suddenly fascinated by the huge carpet in the middle of the room. His mom appears five minutes later, bringing some mango juice with her that Phil accepts with a blinding smile.

“ _ Montre lui la chambre _ , honey,” his mom says, and Phil seems surprised to hear some French. Well, that’s a good point for Dan. He speaks perfect French. Not like it matters that he sounds smarter than he is, but Phil teaches history and Dan is a little intimidated by the whole teacher aura thing.

“ _ Suis moi _ ,” Dan says, and he doesn’t miss the way Phil seems to be flustered. ‘ _ It’s all in your head, you idiot _ ’. Dan’s brain is mean. But rarely wrong. Phil is a  _ professor _ . He’s an adult, and Dan is some awkward, still-technically-a-teenager, skinny boy with nothing to offer. He should stop while he’s ahead. He’s just going to ignore this new guest, just like he did all the other times, and maybe next year he’ll have friends to go on vacation with. One can wish, right?

His room has been cleaned by Laurence, the housekeeper that only works for them when they’re in this house, and who barely speaks English. She’s getting older, and Dan wonders why she still bothers to work when she could live a comfortable life with her husband. Dan was also supposed to be working this summer, but in life (his life especially) sometimes things just don’t work out. His parents insisted that he practices the piano at least, and he’s doing quite good without his God awful teacher who constantly tells him how bad he is, and how he shouldn’t even bother. That gives him the moral boost he so desperately needs. Phil jumps on the bed, groaning, and Dan idly wonders if he should stay or not. He looks around, feeling at a loss here, clears his throat and goes to his temporary room that’s situated just after the shared bathroom. He closes the door behind him, and soon hears a faint snore on the other side. He closes his eyes for a few seconds.

Two months. Two months and he’ll be gone. This should be fine. It’s always been fine. Black hair and beautiful blue eyes won’t change anything. He takes a deep breath before going back downstairs, resisting the sudden urge to go back to  _ his  _ room and see if Phil looks soft when he sleeps, and where did that even come from? He downs another mango juice, gives a quick kiss to his mom, and goes to sit in his favorite spot in the garden, next to a gorgeous pond that you can swim in. He does that every morning but he feels exposed now, as if someone could see him  _ here _ and judge his lanky figure and curly hair. He usually doesn’t give a shit about his hair when he’s away from home and uni, but now he does and he doesn’t know why. He’s not trying to impress  _ him.  _ He doesn’t even know him. And he’s not interested. Phil is 24 years old, he lives far away, probably has a life of his own, maybe a girlfriend or a wife, who knows. He could have kids. So nothing matters. Dan is counting the days. He’ll be gone soon. He lays in a rocking chair as the sun begins to truly hit, and falls asleep within seconds.

When he wakes up, he hears some splashing and he instantly knows he’s there, giggling to himself which is not at all adorable.

“I have a question,” he suddenly says, and Dan startles. He tries to gain some composure, dares to throw a glance at Phil and he’s already looking, all wet and sunglasses on top of his head. Dan knows some people like to look into your eyes when they talk to you, but he’s never been one of those people, doesn’t know how to hold it, especially not Phil’s.

“Shoot,” he says instead, and he’s so glad his voice didn’t betray him. He sounds nonchalant.

“What do you do for fun around here?”

“Fun?”

“Yeah. Fun. I’m asking you because you’re young. You probably know some cool spots.”

_ As if.  _ Dan is not considered fun. And who talks like that? But he’s not about to say that he doesn’t have any friends here, or that he’s some pathetic 19 year old who never parties.

“I may know some spots,” he carefully says, still avoiding Phil’s eyes, “I could show you, if you want.”

Did that sound uninterested, distant? An innocent suggestion? Phil is not saying anything, seems to think about things Dan wouldn’t even dream about.

“Sure. Maybe later.”

And he jumps back into the water. Is that how adults end conversations?  _ Maybe later _ ? What does that even mean? “Later,” he repeats, but he knows Phil can’t hear him. He tries to distract himself but he ends up going back inside, where his mom is painting.

“Try to be nice to him. He’s only here for two months,” she says, and that’s just perfect. She’s a mind reader, that woman. Dan  _ is  _ being nice. But suddenly two months seem so short. It falls on him, and he can’t breathe for a second. He gives a weak agreement to be a good host. Two months.

Dan has decided two things could happen. He’s either going to hate Phil with all of his heart and soul, or he’s going to be broken in half by the intensity he feels in his body whenever he thinks about him. He’s going to make those two months last an eternity.


	2. Crashing of waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter is finally up! Sorry it took me so long to write it. I hope you'll enjoy it!

So Phil has been ignoring him for a week. It’s fine. It’s no big deal. Dan doesn’t understand  _ why _ but it is what it is. His parents don’t seem to think it’s rude that Phil will sometimes skip dinner with them to wander into town with God knows who. Dan is not jealous of people he’s never even met. That would be ridiculous. Phil is allowed to meet people. That’s why he’s here in the first place. 

“He’s writing a paper,” his dad says when Dan asks, because he’s a pathetic loser, “and he needs some help from other academics. I know that I know  _ everything  _ but it’s important that he doesn’t know that.”

And he  _ winks.  _ His mom laughs, and Dan sighs. They couldn’t begin to understand the turmoil inside him. He barely does himself. But he still thinks it’s rude.

“Don’t you think he’s a little arrogant?” he still asks, because his brain is an asshole and sometimes he can’t help it.

“Oh no, he’s just shy,” his mom replies, and isn’t that just terrific?

That’s apparently the end of it because his parents go back to their food and their conversation about....Well, he doesn’t really know, but he pretends like everything is fine anyway. When dinner is over, his dad begs him to play something on the piano, and he groans about it but still complies, and plays some Bach because he’s original like that. Music has always helped him to escape his own mind, to truly relax. His fingers run across the keys, as if they know what to do before he does, and the melody tunes out everything else. He closes his eyes, allowing himself to  _ feel  _ it, this melancholy he’s created for himself. He’s not even sad. Sometimes it feels like he feels nothing at all. And somehow that’s even worse.

He hears him close the door, and his heart may very well jump out of his chest. He looks at the time and it’s only midnight, and it’s all  _ fine _ , thank you very much. There’s a soft knock on  _ his _ door, and there goes his heart again. He orders himself to relax, breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath, breathe out for eight seconds. He probably needs something meaningless, like a key or something. Dan doesn’t have any keys, doesn’t even know why he’d need one, but his anxiety gets the best of him.

“Who is it?”

He wants to slap himself. What a stupid, idiotic thing to ask. He  _ knows _ . A soft chuckle.

“It’s Phil, your neighbor.”

Dan grins. What, he can’t see him. He opens the door to find a very,  _ very _ soft looking Phil. He’s wearing glasses. And Dan knows he’s used the word ‘soft’ a lot, but it’s literally the only thing he can think of when he looks at Phil.

“Oh, hi!”. Did that sound detached? Probably not. But trying is key, here. “Did you need something?”, he adds, because it sounds way better.

“Not really. I can’t sleep. I think I’m still feeling the jet lag.”

Dan’s got no answer for that. “That’s unfortunate.” Yes,  _ awesome _ .

Phil chuckles again. “You could say that.”

His voice is deeper at night. Or maybe he tries to sound lighter when he talks to people and tries to impress them. Which means he’s not trying to impress Dan.  _ Of course not, why would he?  _ He needs to fire his brain, honestly. Phil is looking at him with a weird kind of intensity. It’s unnerving, to say the least. Dan doesn’t know how to describe that look, he’s not sure it’s even a good thing. Maybe Phil wants to murder him. He wouldn’t be the first one.

“So...You came to me why?”

Phil smirks. “You wanna take a walk?”

Dan is flabbergasted. He doesn’t use that word lightly. “Right now?”

Phil grabs his hand, and Dan swears he feels the ground swallow him whole. “Yes, come on!”

Five minutes later and they’re walking down the path that leads to the nearest beach. They’re using their phones as flashlights, and Dan is scared of the dark but he’s not about to point it out, because this is actually nice. Phil is a tough cookie to crack. Maybe he doesn’t hate him, then.

“You’re so quiet,” Phil says, and he’s looking ahead for once.

Dan hates himself a bit. “I guess I am. But only when I’m nervous.”

“Do I make you nervous?”

And he’s got to know. He  _ has to _ . But Dan is willing to play this game.

“Maybe,” he says, smirking as well. Phil hits him playfully on the shoulder, and Dan is  _ living _ .

“I heard you playing. You sound really nice.”

“When?”

Dan is honestly curious. Phil’s never been around to hear him play.

“In your room. Well, your temporary room. You have a piano in there, right?”

He does, but he didn’t know Phil knew about it. He practices on it, it’s a lot smaller and not as nice as the real thing. But still, he’s flattered.

“Well, thank you. Maybe I’ll play you something in the living room.”

Phil falls silent. Dan can’t figure him out  _ at all _ . Did he say something wrong? It was an innocent suggestion. They finally make it to the beach, an awkward silence between them, and Dan wants to run the other way. Or maybe just dive into the sea. Because that’s how he feels right now. Like he’s drowning. Phil is looking everywhere but at him, and Dan misses the intensity from earlier. The waves are crashing against the sand, and it’s kind of magical. Dan loves the sound. The silence is too heavy, and Dan usually likes it, but Phil being next to him makes him a little dizzy.

“I’m sorry,” Dan says, and Phil finally turns to him, surprised.

“What for?”

Dan has no idea. “I honestly don’t know. I felt like I should say it anyway.”

“You’re hard to figure out,” Phil says, and Dan scoffs. “What?”

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” Dan replies, and he likes that sort of challenge. “You didn’t talk to me for a week.”

And there it is. The embarrassment. He  _ noticed.  _ That’s probably not good. Phil is smiling though, so maybe it means something.

“I’m not avoiding you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ve been so busy with research. Being a linguistic expert is not so easy, as it turns out.”

“I thought you were teaching History,” Dan says, because he was so certain that’s what his dad told him. He should start paying attention.

“Oh I wish! But I actually don’t know a whole lot about it. What are you studying, by the way?”

Dan sighs. How does he start to talk about university when every day there feels like he’s walking toward his death? He went into law because his dad was kind of adamant about it, but he couldn’t care less. He  _ hates _ it.

“Law,” he finally says, and Phil bursts out laughing.

“You should have seen your face when you said it!” he hiccups, and Dan may have just found his new favorite sound. “You hate it that much?”

Dan grins. “How did you know?”

They fall into easy conversation after that. And it’s so strange, because Dan resented Phil two hours ago, and now it feels like time has completely stopped to let them enjoy the sea and each other. For the first time in a long time, Dan isn’t keen on going home and sleep the sadness away, he wants to stay here forever, with Phil, talking about nothing and everything all at once. And it should be terrifying, and it sort of is, but sometimes things don’t make sense and it’s fine. He doesn’t know how long they stay here, but Phil suddenly says he’s cold, so they go back to the house quietly, glancing at each other and exchanging secret smiles. Maybe they could be friends, Dan thinks, and he’d be happy with it. He’s not ready to try anything else, and even if he were, Phil has not been giving him any hints. Turns out he really is genuine. Phil wishes him goodnight, and Dan wants to say something,  _ anything _ , like: “Please stay with me, keep talking about anything you want, because I could listen to you all night and then some, your brain works in a wonderful way, and your stories are interesting. Stay, please, don’t tell me to go”, but he’s too much of a coward, and it would sound dramatic.

 

Phil eats breakfast with them the next morning, happily drinking apple juice and devouring his eggs and bacon like he’s been starving for weeks. Dan is stupidly endeared by all of it. His parents laugh. They seem to be under his spell as well.

“What are your plans for today, Philip?", his dad asks, and Dan tries to not be interested, but fails miserably.

“Phil, please. And I was thinking I could take a walk into town. I have to visit some people about my paper, and I promised Chris I would grab a drink with him.”

_ Who the fuck is Chris?  _ Dan’s itching to ask, but he knows it’s not his place. Phil has friends here, for some reason. Friends who are boys named  _ Chris _ . Whatever. Phil finishes his breakfast, clears his plates, gives a pat on the back of Dan’s dad, and wishes them all a good day. He might as well have thrown his glass at Dan’s face. That’s how it feels anyway. He’s not hungry anymore and excuses himself. After a shower that only serves as his existential crises, he takes his place at the pond, waiting. He’s not sure why he’s waiting, or what he’s waiting for, but this is a little piece of paradise and no one will ruin this for him. Last night feels like a fever dream, and maybe he’s imagined the whole thing. How funny it is, that his feelings are all over the place in ways he couldn’t even begin to describe them, like the waves that were crashing on the sand in the night. If he closes his eyes he can still hear it, that sound he loves so much, but it’s now mixed with another one, a laugh that fills the air like a melody, and he lets the tiredness swallow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr under the name howsterhs.tumblr.com !

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the translations!
> 
> *"Show him the room"  
> *"Follow me"


End file.
